My mind is always chattering.  If I'm not thinking about what I need to get done at work for the day, then I'm mentally jotting the list of things I need to get at the grocery store.  It was on my way to work the other day that I started to think about how my family now follows a new pattern, and even 6 months later, we're still making tweaks.  But our routine is starting to solidify enough that I have resumed some other activities which I put on hold as we adjusted to my "new" work schedule.  Of course this blog jumped to my mind. 

Originally, I thought this would be a blog about all these (mobile) software development related.  Code snippets or anything interesting I'd come across.  Frustrations I'd meet in hunting down answers.  But I think there is enough of those out there, and I don't think I would be any different.  Besides, as much as I enjoy my line of work, I don't love it so much that I'd come home to blog about it.  Honestly, if I'm going to take the time to talk about something, I want it to be something I feel strongly (good or bad) about.  After talking to some friends of mine, it dawned on me that the thing I want to talk most about with my girlfriends is how I balance family, work, and my own interests.  

So the new direction I hope to take with maggiemo is not about Margaret or about mobile development.  It's about Margaret being both a mom and a mobile/web developer and finding sanity between the two.

Ohdeedoh

A few months back I teamed up with three talented individuals to form a new brand Tangorang Labs.  We are busily developing mobile apps for users of all ages, especially kids.  It's been a fantastic way to ease back into working while still having time with my kiddo.  I recently finished up ABC: Look. Listen. Write. which is a fun, whimsical app to teach kids their ABCs through illustrations, narration, and letter tracing.   

It was my first iOS app, so there was a bit of a learning curve to get acquainted with a new environment (and distribution process), but it wasn't a big deal.  The challenge I had, which I anticipated on, was figuring out how to balance my time such that I wasn't half-assing anything.  Having my daughter in school two days a week really helps, but software development doesn't always play nice with schedules.  Bugs arise right when you need to shuffle your kid off to music class, or design requirements change *after* she already napped for the day.  It turns out, I was ok with working in the evenings and on weekends when I needed to, but I had trouble letting go of the need to always keep the house in order.  I just couldn't ignore the piles of dishes in the sink giving me the stink eye or the clean-but-unfolded laundry piling up in baskets in the basement.  It drove me crazy, and my poor husband took the brunt of my frustrations.  I really have to work on that next time.  I mean, if software is developed in cycles, then I guess my house will have to have it's own cycles, too, right?

And I have to say it. Wow, do I have a newfound respect for my mom, who worked full-time, cooked dinner almost every night, and always had time for me.  Ok, the house was never clean, but hey, you pick your battles.